


Behind The Tree's

by LadyOfLondon168



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emo Ben Solo, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Growing Up Together, Jealous Ben, Jealous Rey (Star Wars), Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, M/M, Rey doesn't like him, Rey is Not a Palpatine, Reylo - Freeform, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Rey/Kylo Ren, Star Wars - Freeform, Stormpilot, Time Skips, Tomboy Rey, Young Ben Solo, Young Rey, ben is a loner, but she feels kinda bad, reylo au, secret meeting place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22040872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOfLondon168/pseuds/LadyOfLondon168
Summary: Rey grew up surrounded by friends and sunshine.She went on bike rides, had picnics, made swords put of fallen branches and hideouts in the woods.She also punched Ben Solo a lot.Growing up together means you have a lot of history, even if it's not all good. But Rey and Ben managed to emerge from childhood closer than they thought they would ever be.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	1. Quest to the Solo house

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy x

It was a hot summer day and the sort of weather you day dream about while in your stuck in middle school. The sun was bright and warm, beaming across the terracotta roof tiles of the suburban streets that was paradise for young Rey.

She was eleven years old and like most eleven years old felt like she could take on the world. Every morning she’d stomp across her front porch to her bike and ride off at the speed of lighting so she wouldn’t miss a second of sunlight with her friends. By dusk she’d roll back with scraped knees and stories of aliens and adventures to tell Maz over the dinner table.   
Today was going to be no different. 

“Maz!” Rey shouted as she thundered down the stairs of their small home.

Maz was in the kitchen doing her daily large round of laundry. The kitchen was always piled high with other people’s neatly folded laundry that Maz did as one of her many jobs. She was a small woman who always found time in the day to keep her three jobs going while raising a tiny ball of energy in the shape of a little girl.  
“Yes, sunshine.” Maz smiled knowingly at Rey.

Rey riffled through the cupboards and produced a piece of bread and a jar of jam. 

“We’re all going on an adventure today. We’ve been planning it for days now and yesterday Finn found these tree’s that come together at the bottom so we can use it as a base. It’s going to be wizard!” Rey rambles out as she hastily made herself a sandwich.

Maz held in a slight laugh as Rey was finally silenced by taking a giant bite out of her sandwich.

“Well you better be careful if you’re playing in the woods. We don’t need a repeat of last June.”

“I broke both my arms one time! It was an accident and I’ve grown up a lot since then.” Rey stood up as straight as she could, holding her chin up high like a little nutcracker. 

Maz gently stroked the top of her head. She had grown a lot even if she was still a little squirt in her eyes. Her little sunshine had come into her care when she was only six years old and time had flown since then. She couldn’t imagine a life without her. She patted her on the head.

“Go on then. I don’t want you being late for your adventure.”

Rey wiped the crumbs on her mouth and grabbed her backpack off the kitchen counter before she sped out the door. She was half way down the porch when Maz called out to her.

“And don’t be mean to the neighbours!” She called from the kitchen.

Rey rolled her eyes knowing exactly what Maz was talking about. 

“I’m not going to be mean!” She called back before speaking quietly to herself.

“Unless he deserves it.” 

Rey pulls up her creaky bike and begins to ride down the street. She rides across the neighbourhood, taking in how the trees have reached their peak amount of green for the summer and the way the light shone through them onto the sidewalk. Soon she was on the road with the nicer houses. They were bigger than her own and she was always jealous of how big their yards were. If she had a yard like that, she would have a tree house that her, Finn and Poe to have as their hide-out and she could bring them all snacks from the kitchen. I bet they had bigger kitchens as well so she could have twice as many snacks. 

Rey’s day dreaming came to a close when she rolled past a particular house. It was the Solo’s house. She’d only met the owners, Han and Leia, a handful of times when Maz had taken her to neighbourhood events and her only real take away was that Han was a very tall man and Leia had nice hair. It was their son Ben that she was sadly familiar with. Rey sped past as fast as she could at just the thought that he might see her from a window.

She had no time to think about a weird mean loser when she was meeting her best friends. When she finally got to the forested area that flanked the suburbs Rey was peddling as fast as she could. She eventually made it to the pre-planned meeting point at the walking path and skidded her bike to a halt. Two other bikes were already parked off the side of the path and Rey quickly placed her bike by them. 

“Guys!” Rey called out as her bike clanged against the others.

There was no answer.

That’s weird, she thought. She ventured off the path, climbing over rocks and into the tall grass that lead to their new hang out.

“Hey! It’s me! I can see your bikes on the path.” Rey pushed through the brush further until she found the famous tree that Finn had found. 

It was two large old tree’s that over time had grown into each other. Their trunks lent towards each other and their roots tangled together, creating a small hut-like space in the middle. To Rey the moss was a lick of light green paint, the dusty dirt was a hardwood floor and small cracks between the bark were perfect little windows. Rey looked up at it with big round eyes full of excitement and wonder.   
Suddenly, something fell on her head, snapping her out of her awe. She instinctively looked up and again was pelted by something from the heavens.

“Oi!” She shouted as she bent down to pick up the projectile, a little round conker, and thew it up as hard as she could into the leaves above. 

It hit something with a ‘thwap’ and was followed by an ‘Ouch’, then a fit of giggles. These clearly weren't just mischievous squirrels. The leaves rustled and two young boys clambered down, jumping onto the floor with a cloud of dust.

Finn rubbed his arm in pain with a scowl on his face while Poe lent against the tree in a fit of laughter.

“Geez Rey, you didn’t have throw it back so hard.” Finn spoke in frustration.

Rey rolled her eyes and threw her arm around Finn, rubbing his sore arm with comedic care. Finn was the same age as Rey and maybe her best friend. They were both sporty, strong spirited and had the same recurring issue of being grounded for playing football in their houses.

“I’m sorry Finn but next time you try to ambush me think of a better place to hide. You know, somewhere out of reach of my solid curveball.” Rey beamed at him and Finn cracked a smile.   
Poe finally straightened up and wiped his face, inadvertently getting a smudge of dust over his face. Poe was twelve and at least a head taller than Rey. He would grow up to be a handsome young man and already had girls in the playground following him around, but he always preferred to stay with his close little group.

“Next time we’ll have better camouflage, you won’t even be able to find us with your Rey-dar.”

Rey and Finn groaned, ignoring the painful joke and heading towards the hide-out.

“One day you will find that funny.” Poe sighed to himself.

All three of them clambered into the hideout between the trees. With their legs crossed in front of them and their bags squeezed by their sides the group of settled into their little nook. It fit the three of them comfortably, the trees protectively wrapping around them with their dense bark.

Rey sat up straight, chin up in the air.

“What is on the agenda today, Commander Poe?” She announced in an official voice.

“Well General Rey, I have drawn up a map of the land.” Poe riffled through his bag and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and smoothed it out on the floor in the middle of them.  
“There are many threats that we must overcome if we want to find the bounty. Our base is here.” He pointed to the tree drawn off the side of the map.

“And we must go across the path of the Wild Dog Walkers and collect the amulet they guard.”

“Viscous creatures.” Said Finn.

“Then cross the rapid rivers to the flatlands.”

“Impossible to cross.” Said Finn.

“Before we finally hit the lair of the vampire.” He struck the map with a dramatic thud and all three leaned forward to see where he was pointing. 

Rey studied the geography of the map and her head shot up in realisation.

“That’s Solo’s house. We can’t go there!” She spluttered out.

“Why Rey? Are you scared of Beeeen?” Finn teased as he nudges Rey in the side.

“No.” She scoffed. “It’s because Maz said I need to stop ‘being mean’ to the neighbours. Which is totally unfair because it’s him who’s always mean to us!” Rey threw her hands up in frustration.  
“We can still go over there. If we see him we can just ignore him or be nice.” Poe finished and there was a beat of silence. 

There was an eruption of laughter.

***********************************  
The trio were tired when they finally reached the Solo house.

They had been on their bikes for hours, exploring the neighbourhood and fighting their imaginary foes unaware they were going to fight a real one. 

Poe had led them across the path of the Wild Dog Walkers and bravely distracted a bloodthirsty labrador while Rey and Finn retrieved the hidden amulet. Finn had fearlessly dismounted his stead in order to help Rey across the rapid rivers when she slipped and almost fell victim the dangerous stream. And when they had reached the flatlands they had to journey for miles, stopping along the way to replenish on their snack packs. It was a perilous quest, but they had finally made it to the last hurdle. 

The Solo’s house.

“What now, Poe?” Finn asked looking up at the nice house. “We’re not going to mess with the house, are we?”

“No of course not. Mr and Mrs Solo are cool people. We’re just going to stay here and wait.” Poe stated like it was obvious. 

“Wait for what?” Rey quirked an eyebrow.

“For the vampire to leave his lair.” Poe smiled at his two friends, inhaled deeply and realised the loudest scream they had ever heard.

“BEN!” 

The three stood as still as statues. Rey and Finn were in shock at Poe’s complete lack of awareness of the situation he had just gotten them in. He’d poked the bear, the annoying, miserable bear who Rey wasn’t supposed to be getting in fights with.

Slam!

The front window shook open.

“What do you shitheads want?” Ben shouted at the window, his use of language making Rey’s eyebrows raise. He was a pale boy about the same height as Poe but much lankier and has mop of hair above his very angry face.

“We wanted to know if you would come out and play.” Poe forced his face into huge mocking grin and gestured towards the other two. 

Finn shifted awkwardly on his bike and Rey just stayed frozen. They wish they had been told Poe’s endgame plan earlier. 

“And why would I want to play pretend with a bunch of babies?” He retorted with a smug sarcasm.

“You’re a year older than us. You can’t call us babies.” Rey called back at his silly comment.

“I can call you whatever I want, munchkin.” Ben pulled a face and began to close his window.

Rey dug her heels into the ground. She hated it when people made fun of her size, especially when boys did. She may be shorter than most of them but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t best them at most activities. And she wasn’t afraid of proving it.

“That’s easy for you to say when up there in your nice house. Why don’t you come down here and call me that to my face?” She called out sternly, tightening her grip on the bike handles.  
Ben stared down at her with scrutiny.

Slam!

The window closed and he walked out of view. Finn turned to Rey with a concerned expression.

“What are you going to do when he-“ 

“No idea.” Rey squeaked out.

The front door opened and out came a very angry Ben Solo. He stormed across his front yard and in his black t-shirt and kaki shorts, his legs paler than they probably should have been in summer. He eyed the trio and stopped in front of them. Everyone was quiet.

“You and your little munchkin friends need move on to the Lollipop fields or wherever you live and stop annoying me.” His snark cut through the tension.  
Rey squinted up at the boy.

“We’ll go away once you use those ears to fly off to whatever place you came from.”

Ben frowned, the top of his large ears turning pink.

“Well at least I wouldn’t have to get away on this piece of crap you call a bike.” He kicked the wheel of Rey’s bike slightly, making her jolt.

“Hey! Don’t touch my bike!” She shouted, wheeling backwards slightly away from him.

Ben stepped strode forward and kicked her bike again, again Rey jolted clumsily.

“No. What are going to do about it?” He laughed in her face.

Rey let gritted her teeth at his obnoxious attitude.

“I’ll hit you back if you touch my bike again you freak.” 

Ben only gave her a deadpan stare before again kicking her bike, but this time is harder, pushing the front wheel off axis as Rey’s anger only grew. 

Poe and Finn finally saw this as the time to intervene.

“Don’t touch her bike, dude.” Finn spoke up.

“Yeah she said stop.” Poe moved towards Rey protectively, not knowing that she was fully capable of looking after herself. 

“Oh, are you getting your boyfriends to stand up for you? You’re a spoiled brat.” With another sweep her kicked Rey’s bike. Anger finally got the better of Rey, no one calls her a brat. And they are not her boyfriends.

Without a word she jumped off her bike, took one step forward and punched him in the face. 

Finn and Poe let an impulsive ‘ooph’ as Rey’s fist collided with his nose in an impressive show of strength. Ben recoiled back, hands cupped around his nose and let out a pained noise. Rey had never hit anyone properly before, just play fighting with Finn but even then, they never went for the face. It was just Ben was so rude and frustrating she had to take it out on his face. His stupid smug face.   
She couldn’t tell if he was bleeding as his hand was still up to his face, but it suddenly dawned on Rey that she would be in a lot of trouble. As Ben still looked at her in wide eyes shock, she picked up her bike and tried to look as tough as possible.

“I said I’d hit you, Solo.” With that she mounted her bike and rode away, looking back once to see her friends hurriedly following her as Ben sat back on the pavement. 

She had defeated the vampire.


	2. Fraternising with the enemy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still going, again I hope you like it xx

Rey was starting to feel bad. 

She had punched Ben a few days ago and guilt has slowly been building in her stomach the more she thought about it. She was currently lay on her bed, her legs kicking up in the air as she read one of her books and trying to convince herself that she did the right thing.

He was being really mean, she thought while turning the page and not really paying attention to the story anymore. He was picking on me and my friends, it’s time someone stood up to him, she turned another page.

But what if I broke his nose. 

She slammed her book shut and face planted into her bed. She hadn't seen him since the incident because she’d been avoiding the Solo’s house like the plague, just in case his parents came out to shout at her for punching their son. At least that’s what Maz would do. 

Rey lifted her head off the pillow flipped over in a huff so she was facing up at her walls. Like all the rooms in the house it was small but undeniably cosy. Last year Maz had let her paint the walls a dandelion yellow and the setting sun always bounced off them, illuminating everything inside. She had little bookshelves full of adventure stories and soccer trophies proudly displayed at each end of the shelves. Stuffed animals were thrown around the room from when her and Finn had gotten dramatic with their imaginary space court. Even with the carpet being slightly discoloured, the broken window frame and the dint in the wall it was the perfect epicentre for Rey.

She continued to ponder the fate of Ben when she heard her yard gate opening and an unfamiliar chatter coming up the porch. She sat up inquisitively and moved to peer out the window at the people below. 

“We just need to talk to her mom, Han.” A female voice said in hushed tones.

“I know, I know but the kid said he didn’t want us to.” The male voice replied.

Oh no. She was in trouble.

They knocked on the door and Maz answered with her usual welcoming cheer. Pleasantries were exchanged and the couple were ushered into the house. Rey began to panic. Scenes of his parents coming up to shout at her while Maz looked at her with that disappointed look she does. Then she would be grounded for the rest of her life. It was all too much to bear so she slowly got up and snook out onto the landing to gauge how much trouble she was actually in. 

Sneakily Rey tip-toed down a few of the stairs until she was in earshot of the conversation the adults were having below.

“I’m so sorry. Rey doesn’t usually get into trouble, I didn’t raise her to use violence.” Maz said with disappointment in her voice.

Rey winced.

“We’re not blaming you Maz. Hell, we’re not even blaming your kid to a certain extent.” Han replied.

“There’s been some issues with school.” Leia said in a hushed tone. “He doesn’t really get on with his classmates and the school has even contacted about how he’s behaved towards other students.”   
Rey didn’t go to the same middle school as Ben so this was all new to her, but she wasn’t surprised.

“Rey has told me about him before.” Replied Maz in a sympathetic tone. “You know, theres been some name calling and I can tell that it’s been upsetting Rey more than she lets on.”

She wasn’t completely wrong. Rey and her friends had been at odds with Ben ever since he moved into the neighbourhood. It’s not that he just didn’t want to play with them but that he would tease and make fun of them for no apparent reason. What made it worse was that Ben was a smart kid and his insults would always cut Rey a little deeper than others. It was more than her classmates teasing her about her clothes and other vain things because he always managed to get under skin. Maybe that was his issue at school as well.

“That’s what we thought. I mean she must have been pretty annoyed to sock him in the face that hard.” Han chuckled lightly.

“She hasn’t said anything to me, but I’ll talk to her about it. Get her to go around and apologise to him and such.” Said Maz.

“Thank you, we really appreciate it. We’ve talked to Ben about it as well so hopefully he’ll understand that he wasn’t in the right either.” Leia said. “He’s been pretty upset since it happened.”

Rey felt the pang of guilt in her stomach again. She must have hit him pretty hard for him to still be upset over it a few days later. There was a more adult talk downstairs and the sound of everyone shuffling around signalled to her that she needed to go back to her room. She sat on her bed and waited for Maz to come up as the Solo’s left. It was only a few minutes before Maz gently knocked on the door and pocked her head into the room.

“Can we have a talk, Rey?” She asked.

Rey nodded, staying tight lipped as to not give away that she already knows what Maz wants to talk about. Maz sat at the end of her bed and Rey sat up to attention.

“What’s this I hear bout you getting into a fight with Ben Solo?” 

Rey couldn’t look her in the eye.

“It wasn’t a fight really, I just hit him in the face.” She said, pulling on the strings at the bottom of her t-shirt.

“What made you do that, Rey?”

“He was being so mean Maz. He was kicking my bike and calling us names and he kept making fun of my size! I had to hit him or else he’d keep being awful!” She pleaded with Maz.

“I didn’t raise you start fights. If he was picking on you, you should have come and told me about it. You can’t just bop a boy in the face everytime he calls you small. If I did that, I would hitting people every day.” Maz managed to coax a smile from Rey.

“You really hurt his feelings, Rey.”

Rey opened her mouth to interrupt but Maz continues.

“I know, I know. He hurt your feelings too, but Mr and Mrs Solo have talked to Ben as well. You both need to shake hands and apologise to each other.”

Rey exhaled out of her nose and pulled a face. The prospect of having to go near Ben, let alone touch his hand, was enough to make her gag. Hopefully Maz was being metaphorical. 

“Rey, come on.” Maz said sternly.

Rey couldn’t exactly refuse. She was eleven and not willing to start her teenage rebellion early. With one final frustrated look she relented.

“Fine.” 

With that she was ready to fraternise with the enemy.

*****************************************************************************************

She felt like a prisoner being led to the chopping block as she was walked down to the Solo’s house. Maz had made her get changed into nicer clothes as the Han and Leia had generously invited them around to dinner and apparently, she couldn’t go with her scuffed knees out. Maz held her hand as they walked up the path towards the house, probably because she knew that Rey would make a run for it if she could.

The sun was beginning to fall in the sky, casting a dusky light over the house and elongating the ominous shadow that Rey was now walking into. Despite the houses niceties, the neat flowerbeds, the white painted window frames and the old vintage car in the driveway, Rey had been programmed to see it as a place to avoid.

She climbed the steps to the front door and Maz squeezed her hand.

“Just remember your manners and don’t pull that face. They’re doing a nice thing inviting us over.”

Rey didn’t have time to retort as Maz knocked on the door and a smiling Han opened. He was wiping his hands on a dish towel and looked somewhat flustered as he stood with his apron tied around his waist.

“Hey there.” He says extending a hand towards Maz, shaking it firmly.

“I’m having some trouble with the cooking but come in.”

Maz chucked and looked up at the tall man with her usual maternal instinct.

“Ah then I’ve come just in time, dear.” She gently pushed past Han into the house. “What are we attempting to make?” Rey heard her ask in the corridor before she disappeared into the house.  
Han smiled in a perplexed manner and looked down at the little girl still stood on the front porch. Rey’s face was still like stone, an expression that Han was used to with his own son, and bent down slightly to talk to her.

“I know you don’t want to be here, kid. Just do what you have to do, take all the food you can and make the most of it.” He smiled the knowing smile of a man who was used to being at social events he didn’t want to attend.

He moved to the side of the door and gestured for Rey to come in, which she did reluctantly. She looked around the entrance as she wondered in, taking in the white wooden staircase, the dark hardwood floors, the wooden beams that ran across the high ceilings and just how nice it was compared to her own home. It was unfair that a boy like Ben got to live in house that she could only dream off. The open plan of the house meant Rey could see into the kitchen and Maz had quickly made herself at home. She was pottering around talking to Leia who was listening to her intently. As she entered the kitchen, she heard Maz telling her how to save their disaster of a meal.

“You’ve put it all at the wrong temperature, you see.” Maz said as Rey quickly walked up behind her, following her around like a baby duckling tucked behind her legs. Leia smiled down at her and held out a hand to Rey to shake. 

“Hello there, I’m Leia. What’s your name?” She said as Rey tentatively reached out to shake her hand. Leia gave it a firm shake and Rey was taken back slightly sceptical as she wasn’t used to adults treating her as such.

“I’m Rey.” She said in her usual deadpan voice of discomfort. 

It made Leia stifle a laugh and a timer ‘dinged’ somewhere in the kitchen, making Leia jump back to attention.

“Right.” She said hitting her hands on her legs. “It’s going to be really boring in the kitchen so why don’t you play outside? We have a swing set and sports gear that you play with.”

Rey looked up at Maz with pleading eyes. She just wanted to stay with her, avoid why she was here, get food. As Han said, ‘Make the most of it’. But the way that Maz looked back, in a way only a mother could, told Rey that she had to do what she was told. She left to the yard.

It was big and green and everything she thought it would be. It had trees flanking all sides that created a cool shade and had string lights dotted across the branches. They had more flowerbeds and other none-flowers neatly lines up which made her curious. They had a patio with tables and chairs set out or dinner and she could sprinklers set into the yard. She could already imagine herself camping out in summer and turing on the string lights to act as stars on their space adventures. She wondered if that’s what Ben did. Probably not, he hates fun.

She made her way to the promised swing set that she could sit at until she was called in for dinner. Her plan was to stay hidden away for long enough that they would forget that she had to apologise to Ben and she could leave without having to ever talk to him again. But Rey realised that her plan would be foiled when she saw heard the patio door hit shut again. Out walked Ben, all awkward and lanky with his head down, looking as excited about the situation as she was. Not knowing what to do she stayed sat on the swing, kicking the dirt under her feet as the boy approached her.

Neither of them said anything as he just stood in front of her, still looking at the ground. Rey quickly noticed the shading of purple on the side of his face, just a slight bruise from their last encounter. Ben wasn’t usually this quiet as he was always running his mouth and trying his hardest to ruin fun as possible. It made Rey fidget more uncomfortably. 

“You’re making me uncomfortable.” Said Rey without thinking.

“What?” He said, his head finally looking up and he squinted slightly from the sun in his eyes.

“You’re not saying anything and it’s weird.” It was now her turn to look down awkwardly and kick the dirt again. 

“Fine, can I sit here?” He gestured to the swing next to Rey. 

“It’s you’re swing set.” She shrugged and Ben sat down next to her. It was easier to talk to him when she didn’t have to look at him.

“Your mum and dad are nice.” Rey said genuinely.

“Yeah.” Ben said dryly.

“I don’t have a mom and dad.” Rey said genuinely.

“Cool, I guess.” Ben said dryly.

Even at her age Rey was aware enough to see that this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. She decided that she needed to just get it over and done, like pulling off a band-aid.

“Sorry I punched you in the face.” She quickly let out, turning her body more to face Ben. She was looking at his profile and from this angle she could see how big his nose was. She instantly felt bad for thinking that while trying to apologise to him.

“Whatever, it didn’t even hurt anyway.” He said still not making the effort to look at her. 

Rey squinted her eyes at him knowing full well that the bruise on his face wasn’t coincidental. And from the complaints of Finn and Poe, her punches weren’t light.

“Are you sure? I tried to hit you pretty hard and your face is kinda busted.” She quizzed him.

“It just looks bad, it’s not even sore.” He said defensively.

“Oh yeah.” Rey smiled mischievously. “Then you won’t mind if I just…” She leaned over and prodded his facial bruise which made him flinch backwards and wince in pain.  
“Ow! Don’t do that it –“ Ben quickly cut himself off.

“Hurts?” Rey giggled with glee.

Rey was still in a fit of giggles at the Ben’s reaction and his moody face was only making her laugh more as he scrunched up his eyebrows at her. She gently nudged him with her elbow, and he flinched again, as if he didn’t know how to react to such friendly contact, and looked over at her.

“Sorry, I’m just playing around. You can apologise for kicking my bike now. Maz said we need to shake hands and make-up so the quicker we do that the quicker we can go get food.” Rey’s giggled subsides as she bluntly stated her agenda to him.

Ben looked somewhat reluctant and uninterested, but it wasn’t clear about which part. The apologising? The hand shake? The food? 

“I’m sorry for kicking your bike. It’s a nice bike and I wouldn’t want to damage it or for you to fall off and hurt yourself.” He said this quietly and his ears tinged with pink as he did so, clearly embarrassed admitting his guilt.

Rey was taken aback by how proper his apology was and immediately lamented that hers wasn’t as good.

“Apology accepted.” Rey smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. “Friends? Well, not proper friends, I still don’t like you that much.” 

Ben rolled his eyes at took her hand, both giving a firm shake before quickly breaking apart as to not be seen holding hands.

“I don’t like you either.” He smiled standing up and gesturing towards his house. “So, get off my swing set, I think dinners ready.”

With that both walked to the house for a very awkward dinner where the budding friends-not-proper-friends-because-they-don’t-like-each-other sat and ignored each other for the duration of the evening.


End file.
